The Bald Eagle is our National Bird. With all the red, white, and blue crafts and décor this week a Bald Eagle sounded like the perfect symbol of freedom to add to our Independence Week.
This fun project turned out to be my little guy’s favorite of all time. HE LOVES HIS EAGLE.
Play Dough is a daily activity at our house. We use cookie cutters, rolling pins, toothpicks, and even hot wheels to create, mold, and let our imaginations run wild!
This Ten Minute Play Dough recipe requires five ingredients that you likely already have tucked away in your pantry, requires no cooking, and is easily ready for endless fun in just minutes…
This 2014 Summer Bucket List was created by both myself and my three year old;
the fluorescent pedicure is for Momma however if my tot has any say in the color I will likely have ten different neon colored toes!
1. Visit Family
2. Make a Tie Dye T-shirt
3. Water Gun Fight
4. Find the perfect spot to view more
than one Fireworks show on the 4th
5. Go to Disneyland
6. Make S’mores
(and then make them again)
7. Pay for a stranger’s tea or coffee
8. Go on a Family Picnic
9. Visit three different beaches
10. Go to a Baseball Game
11. Discover a new Splash Pad
12. Build an Elaborate Sand Castle
13. Buy & Fly a Kite
14. Bike Coronado Island
15. Run through the Sprinklers
16. Send a gift card & a drawing to
someone unsuspecting
17. Get a Florescent Pedicure
18. Skip a Rock
19. Watch the Sunrise
20. Create a new Dessert that
tastes like Summer
We were able to cross a couple items off our summer bucket list when my sister was here the first week of June. We will continue to post photos on Instagram as we make more memories from our bucket list including my pedicure that may or may not make next summer’s list.
What about your list? What fun summer plans have you made? Comment to share!
Here’s to sunny days and memories made.
– T
Linking up: Treasure Box Tuesday
Last year me and my little guy made flag t-shirts for him and his big brother.
These Patriotic shirts turned out perfect for Memorial Day, Flag Day, & Independence Day.
My teen still wears his regularly however my tot has grown a few sizes since last summer and with a Marine Boot Camp Graduation in our near future as well as Flag Day and Independence Day we made him a new one this week that fits.
To create this Flag T-shirt you will need five items …
*White T-Shirt *Blue Fabric Paint *Red Fabric Paint *Paint Brush *Small Hand
Instructions: Prewash t-shirt; Place a piece of cardboard inside the t-shirt so that the paint does not bleed through to the back of the shirt; Start with the blue hand print before adding the red stripes with a paint brush; Allow time to dry before wearing and washing. Wear with Pride.
And one more suggested instruction: if your little one is anything like mine I recommend you pull out an old t-shirt from the Goodwill box in the Garage and some washable paints to paint while you work on the red stripes. My tot loved every minute of painting a t-shirt “just like Momma” and was extremely proud of his finished product.
Cute, right?
– T
Linking up: Works For Me Wednesday Treasure Box Tuesday Made By You Monday
All Things With Purpose Weekend No Rules Blog Hop Nifty Thrify Sunday Creative Corner Hop A Creative Princess
A fun preschool activity to go along with reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar Book (by Eric Carle) is painting and creating an Egg Carton Caterpillar!
First, hang on to that egg carton you have in the fridge once you empty it. You will also need paints, paint brushes, googly eyes, glue, and a pipe cleaner.
Begin by cutting the carton in fourths. Use the cover of the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, as a model caterpillar. Paint your Caterpillar Carton (we used teal, green, blue & red paint for ours). After the paint dries glue the googly eyes on your caterpillar and punch two holes in the top of your carton to thread the pipe cleaner through.
These Caterpillar creations are fun to play with and look great on display on a bookshelf. My little guy loves reading books and as we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar his Egg Carton Caterpillar mimics the story.
Tip: Empty Egg Cartons do not just come in handy when creating Hungry Caterpillars; they are also perfect when painting – add different paint colors in each pocket; and they are great to have around when working on fine motor skills – add fuzzy balls and other small objects in the pockets for little ones to pick up and sort while working on their finger coordination.
Have fun repurposing that egg carton!
– T
Linking up: Made By You Monday What I Learned Wednesday Works For Me Wednesday Project Inspire(d) Treasure Box Tuesday Pinworthy Projects
The nighttime routine at our house begins with bath time & brushing teeth, then we exchange hugs and kisses, followed by reading books & saying prayers, and finally we sing some of our favorite songs including “I See The Moon”, “Jesus Loves Me”, “Twinkle Star”, and “You Are My Sunshine” before our little guy drifts off to dreamland.
Listening to our tot say his prayers is one of the sweetest moments of the day. He often repeats an aunt, uncle, or cousin several times which is our indication that he is really missing that particular 
person. Some nights prayers last a long time including blessing as many friends and animals that come to mind, other nights prayers end after “Daddy, Momma & Bubba” have been named and the infamous “and everybody we love, Amen” line has been shared aloud.
To combine my tot’s love of his family and books along with his list of prayers I created a bedtime prayer book for him. I used the program MyPublisher to create a prayer photo book in which pictures of loved ones are displayed from times those he prays for shared a fun moment with our little guy.
In the past I have created photo books on four different 
online photo company websites. There is only one that I truly didn’t care for the print quality and they have since been bought out by a different company. Overall, I prefer MyPublisher as the adding and editing of photos, pages, backgrounds, and accents happen right on my computer rather than over the internet. MyPublisher offers a free downloadable program to create books. The program includes many background, font & accent options and is very user friendly. After the book is created on the PC it just takes one click to upload it to the MyPublisher website for print.
The Bedtime Prayer Book I made for my tot is a perfect keepsake and it is already a favorite in our home. My sweet bookworm loves having a photo book of prayers which holds his memories and loved ones that he is so fond of including his aunts, uncles, and cousins.
The Bedtime Prayer Book, of course, ends with “God Bless all God’s children and everybody we love. Amen”.
– T
Follow me: FACEBOOK GOOGLE+ INSTAGRAM PINTEREST TWITTER
Linking up: The Makers Link Fantastic Thursday All Things With Purpose Nifty Thrifty Sunday Works For Me Wednesday What I Learned Wednesday DIY Inspired
Recently a blog post by Lisa-Jo Baker, author of Surprised By Motherhood, caught my eye. The title of this particular post – How Not To Be Disappointed This Mother’s Day. In this article Lisa-Jo discusses what we as mothers EXPECT; her point on Motherhood being more than a 24 hour period once a year is made clear. She offers eleven ideas to celebrate and honor Mother’s Day by giving to others without the expectation of receiving. Lisa-Jo ends with “Because the thing is, we mother because we’re called to it. We mother because it’s a gift. We mother because God trusted us with these kids. We mother because we can’t not.”
This article really had me thinking. Thinking of the moments I had been disappointed without realizing that what I was really doing was putting an expectation on someone, some thing, or some day. Years ago I read The Five Love Languages and discovered my first love language is quality time and my secondary language is acts of service. So therefore I naturally want to give others those things that I like to receive sometimes forgetting to consider their love language and how they might like to receive a gift. Without fail my little guy and I make a homemade creation for my husband each holiday. In my love language time equates to love therefore it is important to me to teach my little guy this type of giving.
While my husband is a perfect match for me and pretty amazing at a lot of things he’s not so much the “sit down and create something crafty with a three year old type”. He’s more of a “little blue boxes create smiles so I’m on my way to Tiffany’s after bath time the night before the gift is needed type”. Thanks to Lisa-Jo Baker’s blog I decided to take matters into my own hands this Mother’s Day. One day this past week when the time of the day arrived in which I teach my sweet boy a little something & we create with our hands I announced to him that on this day we were going to make his Momma something. We discussed Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and how we give love, hugs, kisses and hand made creations. And to my delight he was all-in! He immediately responded “My make you a ‘fow-yer’! A purple ‘fow-yer’ and ‘well-wo’ sun!! Pwease momma.” (He sometimes refers to himself as “my”.)
We started with a white sheet of card stock that my tot painted blue with a paintbrush. After his nap when the blue paint had dried he used his knuckles and fingertips to create a yellow sun, his finger tips to splotch a stem, “weaves”, & grass, and his hand to create my purple flower. It’s beautiful. My first “homemade for me (by my youngest son) creation.” I framed it! I love how enthusiastically my little guy agreed to give to his momma. I love the act of love & time we shared creating it, and I love the smile on my tot’s face and the sincerity in his voice when he announced “All done! Momma woves purple fow-yers.” He’s right. I love my Mother’s Day gift. Though the real gift in all of this is that I was chosen to be his & his “Bubby’s” momma and that is the greatest gift I will ever receive.
Happy Mother’s Day to you, and to all Mommas and Step Moms, Adopted Moms, Grandmas, Deployed Mommys & Mr Moms, Mothers-in-Law, Aunties and Surrogate Moms, and to all Women who Nurture. I hope that you know and feel love on Mother’s Day and everyday.
– T
Follow me: FACEBOOK GOOGLE+ INSTAGRAM PINTEREST TWITTER
Linking up: The Girl Creative – DIY Inspired Thrifty Thursday Treasure Box Tuesday Skip to My Lou Cupcakes & Crinoline Creative Corner Hop
Crayola defines Color Wonder markers as “inks that color only on special paper and won’t color on skin, furniture or fabric”; it is “mess free”; for “ages 3+”; and is “the magic of color without the mess!”
tagipedia defines a 3 year old as an active, smiley, cuddly being who loves the outdoors; trusts there is “good” everywhere; asks why, then asks why again, and again; thinks Daddy can fix anything that is broke; believes a hug from momma can cure the worst moments & pains; lives for adventure and trying new things; finds happiness in minor and major accomplishments; is great with paint, play dough, and imagination; and can create a mess in record time.
As I’ve mentioned before I have a three year old. A three year old who is defined above. When I came across Crayola Color Wonder a year or so ago I thought, “Mess free? What a concept! What an unbelievable concept.” However, doubting the idea like waterproof mascara and superglue, I bought into the advertisement. Crayola’s colorful packaging and big bold “mess free” logo spoke to me. I bought it. And I quickly found out with my then two year old that Color Wonder is mess free and magical.
Color Wonder markers ONLY work on Crayola paper. The variety of colors mark in the specified cap color when coloring on the special paper and they do not mark on anything else. The tips are white in color yet the actual marking appears clear when placed on skin, walls, furniture, or anywhere else a two or three year old might find themselves being creative. Color Wonder is a perfect car ride and airplane activity, doctors office visit and restaurant activity, or even a busy time activity on Momma’s bed while she gets ready for the day (as pictured). There is no concern for distracted fingers moving markers across clothing, bedding, or furniture. They are magic.
I highly recommend Crayola Color Wonder for those needed busy activity times that less supervision is available. My personal opinion is that Color Wonder is ideal for ages 2-4. Note: the packaging states “3+”. The markers are “fat” and easy for tiny hands to maneuver. They make a great gift for those creative little ones in your life who might have plenty of crayons, paints, stamps, and stickers. And this gift doubles as a break for their parents who you adore; might they take a moment for themselves, sit down with a cup of tea and breathe while their tot puts marker to paper and makes magic. Color Wonder is available in many designs, activity packs, and characters. And they work for my little guy and me this Wednesday.
Wishing you a colorful and magical day!
– T
Follow me: TWITTER PINTEREST Google+
Linking up at: Works For Me Wednesday What I Learned Wednesday Thrifty Thursday Epic Friday Linky Party Time to Sparkle
© 2014 All opinions are my own. www.tagsthoughts.com
I did not receive goods/funds/sponsorship to write this review.
At our last house we had a wood sandbox complete with an attached blue & white striped umbrella. It was quite the gathering spot for my morning tea with my little man as well as play dates with his friends. Unfortunately the wood didn’t hold up so well and neither did the umbrella in the valley of the sun. Our current home is on a hillside on stilts and rather than a grassy back yard we have two separate large wood decks. We have a beautiful view that my older son’s friend refers to as a “casual forest” and outside of missing the grass and the sandbox we really enjoy our days and evenings on the deck amidst the Eucalyptus trees.
My little guy loves building sand castles, roads, and sand race tracks. He spends the majority of his time during our days at the beach playing in the sand while ignoring the ocean waves and water play that his big brother partakes in. To bring some sand castles and road construction into our daily life I came up with a very simple solution. A tub o’ sand. That’s it. A tub + a bag of sand = FUN.
This perfect solution sits out on the deck off of our family room and serves as my tot’s chosen play place several times throughout each day. Because there is a lid there is no worry that cats, squirrels or anything uninvited will find it’s way into the sand. The cost is just at ten dollars to purchase the tub & sand and most importantly, this tub o’ sand serves as learning and sensory time too. Remove the buckets and trucks, then burry magnet letters off of the refrigerator and you have a place for your child to work on fine motor skills while sifting through the sand (shovels optional). As the letters are uncovered discuss the letter, sounds it makes, and objects that begin with that letter. Do the same with wooden puzzle pieces – shapes, farm animals, numbers, etc. Depending on the age of your child they can guess what is in their hand before pulling it out of the sand and revealing the object. Sand play is a great sensory activity for developing fine motor skills and makes for a fun learning time for little ones.
For more Nifty Thrifty ideas, join hundreds of bloggers by clicking here and LIKE Nifty Thrify Things on Facebook.
Here’s to days on the beach with sand between your toes and days on the deck with sand between your fingers!
– T
Note: On rainy days that we stay indoors we fill a tub with colored rice to enjoy sensory play by burying objects in rice – if you put a sheet down first the rice mess is easily collected. Enjoy!
Follow me: TWITTER PINTEREST Google+
Linking up at: Nifty Thrifty Things Treasure Box Tuesday Pin Worthy Projects Party Weekend No Rules Blog Hop
After the boys’ Papa & Grandma left this morning to continue on their road trip up to Washington State I decided it was time to do something about those pine cones we collected. In the words of my tot… “we made bunnies!”
What you will need:
– Pine Cone
– Mini Pom Pom (or cotton ball)
– Pipe Cleaner for Ears
– Ribbon (or Pipe Cleaner) for Bow Tie
– Wiggly Eyes
– Paint
– Paint Brush
– Glue
Painting a pine cone can be a bit challenging. My teen didn’t have class this morning and so he joined in on the craft action. He and I painted ours with more of a splotching technique and dabbed the paint on. My little guy painted more of his construction paper that his pine cone was sitting on than the actual pine cone but was very proud of his bunny brush strokes & was having fun which is all that matters.
After your pine cone dries, attach your cotton tail and wiggly eyes with glue. While the glue is setting cut a couple inches off the end of your pipe cleaner and use the larger piece to manipulate into two bunny ears. The pipe cleaner will attach to the top of the pine cone with ease. My oldest decided he’d use a pipe cleaner to create his bow tie too. Rather smart move. He was able to cut the pipe cleaner to the size he needed, shaped it into a bow and then left a “tail” on the end of the bow to push through the pine cone. I chose to wrap ribbons around Momma & Daddy Bunny and then tied bows.
If you don’t have a pine cone you could always make a River Rock Bunny. Get creative. Add glitter. Create a bunny hat out of construction paper or a carrot out of foam paper. Most importantly, have fun and have a Happy Easter!
– T
Note: Within a few minutes of posting this craft I heard from a friend in Louisiana; she didn’t have available Pine Cones but she did have Toilet Paper Rolls and so TP Bunnies it is for her and her little girl on this rainy Louisiana afternoon. Creative. Fun. Enjoy.
tags thoughts, recipes & reviews 